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How to Receive Mail Notifications for Important Contacts Only

By Conner Careyupdated on 04/22/2016

Not all emails are created equal. Between spam and miscellaneous messages, there are a lot of emails we get notifications for that don't need to be checked right away. On the other hand, there are business emails and notes from family members we may want to reply to immediately. By turning on email notifications for only your VIP Mailbox in the Mail app, you'll receive fewer non-urgent notifications. Or, you can set a separate notification sound for your VIPs to differentiate between the two.

To add a Contact to your VIP list, open your Mail app and tap Mailboxes.
If you have no previous VIP contacts, tap VIP and select Add VIP.
The list of your contacts will appear; select your new VIP contact. Their name will display under VIP List. To add another, select Add VIP and repeat the steps. Once you've added all of your very important people, turn off other email notifications by tapping VIP Alerts (You can also access this menu by going to Settings > Notifications > Mail > VIP).
From VIP, you can change the alert sound by tapping Notification Sound and selecting from your sound library. Return to the VIP menu to change other aspects of the Alert Style.
To turn off non-VIP email alerts, go back once screen to Mail in the Notification Settings. Tap on an email account in the list above VIP; my only account is Yahoo.

Here, adjust the Notification Sound: Tap Notification Sound, scroll to the top of the Alert Tones list, and select None. Then, tap on Vibration and select None. Repeat for each account. To receive no notification via your screen, turn off Show on Lock Screen and Show in Notification Center. Below that is Alert Style when Unlocked, tap None.

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Conner Carey holds a bachelor's in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and resides in Fairfield, Iowa. When she's not writing, you can find her singing jazz or lifting weights. Her personal blog is currently under construction, but you can follow her on Instagram @connerleecarey.

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